GCC expected to have 4.2% growth in 2014

A recent economic report has expected the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to achieve a growth rate of 4.2 percent this year, worth about USD 1.7 trillion, compared to USD 1.65 trillion in 2013.
The bi-annual report, issued by the secretariat general of the Federation of the GCC Chambers (FGCCC) said the member states look forward to a more share of economic sectors in their GDP, especially the industrial one.
It noted that the GCC countries are seeking to raise contribution by the industrial sector to 25 percent of the GDP by 2020, from 10 percent at present, employing the sustainable growth of the sector and the flow of government and private investments into the industrial projects.
The report also expected the volume of industrial investments in the GCC to hit USD one trillion by 2020, compared to USD 323 billion at present, after industrial cities being constructed at present are accomplished.
According to the report, the GCC countries are working on fostering the industrial sector as part of their strategy based on varying sources of income and developing new investment opportunities in sectors other than petroleum and gas.
The GCC also have plans to support small and medium industries which constitute up to 86 percent of the total industrial facilities in the six-member bloc though they do not exceed 22 percent of the total investments in the sector.
The industrial sector will play a key role in the GCC economy through alliances with leading world firms, for the transfer of technology and the benefits of production partnerships as well as streamlining procedures to obtain industrial input for the private sector.
It also stressed the importance national partnerships with the private sector and the petrochemical and metal industries companies, the importance of localizing knowledge-based industries and boosting spending on research and development, linking it to the technological research of the target industrial sectors.
The report pointed to the directives of the Federation board of directors on activating the sectoral committees to play their due role, in line with the relevant strategy approved in 2011.
These committees have also to be reformed and linked to other specialized and technical ones, such as the Committee of the GCC Common Market, the Committee of the Customs Union, the GCC Tourism Committee, for the sake of enhancing the role of the private sector.